Friday, May 21, 2010
Rheinard tops first Dutch qualifier Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Championship leader Marc Rheinard has set the pace in the opening round of qualifytng here at the fifth round of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series in the Netherlands. The World Champion topped the hotly contested heat from European Champion Jilles Groskamp and current 1:8 Off Road World Champion Atsushi Hara with just over a second covering the trio after five minutes. Rheinard said his car was really good except for the opening lap when he had no traction. The German lost 7/10th compared with the fastest opening lap set by his Tamiya/Speed Passion team-mate Viktor Wilck something he believes was caused by taking his tyre warmers off too early.
Groskamp said his Tamiya felt good but lacked the power of his rivals. Running the same setting on his speedo as earlier in the day he said he should have taken advantage of the cooler conditions and up the power on his Nosram speedo. The Dutch driver who knows this track better than anyone was very impressed by Rheinard and Hara considering their lack of track knowledge and said they are both driving extremely well. Unfortunately for Groskamp his car suffered damage after he had completed the run when Zdenko Kunak’s Xray shut down and he hit him at full speed. Both drivers will now have a late evening as they fully rebuild their respective chassis.
‘Very close, one mistake and its over’ was how Hara described the opening heat. The Japanese driver said his new TCX chassis had a better feeling following the switch from a GM 4.5 to 5.5 turn motor but felt it lacked a little in outright speed. For the second qualifier tomorrow morning he plans to run a 5.0 turn.
Despite arriving late in the Netherlands this afternoon due to a school exam this morning in Germany, Yannic Prumper set a very impressive fourth fastest time despite only getting to do two of the days five practice runs. Behind the young German talent it was Andy Moore who was on a very similar pace to his Hot Bodies team-mate Hara until he caught a curb sending his Orion powered car into a 360 spin. Steen Graversen completed the top six with his Tamiya/Speed Passion combination followed by the Yokomo/GM of Martin Hofer, the German said his car was good but his driving on this occassion was below par.
In Pro Stock Vasco Christiaanse ensured the Dutch are very much on target for a hat trick of home ETS victories by taking his Kyosho TF6 around the MACH in the fastest time with a 16 lap run in 5:07.196. Behind the 2008 Top Qualifier was top international Russian driver Ivan Laptev who was less than 7/10th off with his Tamiya. Germany’s Oliver Franke completed the Top 3 at the controls of his Xray. In the Hobby Class young German driver Lucas Fischer topped the over night qualification rankings from standings leading Michal Orlowski of Poland.
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Groskamps heads Hara at the end of Practice Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
As predicted defending ETS Champion Jilles Groskamp is setting the pace at the MACH, the factory Tamiya driver topping the practice time sheets from former World Champion Atsushi Hara. Despite failing to improve on his time in the final round of practice Groskamp was the only driver to break below a 16 second average for three consecutive laps putting him top seed for qualifying here at his home track. Running a 3mm chassis plate on his TRF416 in the final practice the Dutch driver said that track conditions where slower but overall his car felt better with the thicker chassis and he plans to run it in the opening qualifier this evening. Commenting on the gap between him and his rivals the reigning European Champion said his track knowledge has a lot to do with it but tomorrow Hara & Co will close in as they perfect their racing lines.
This is Hara’s first visit to MACH which he described as ‘crazy big’. Having parted company with Team Orion, the factory Hot Bodies driver is trying GM electrics this weekend which he said has ‘Huge power’. This is causing him to find it hard to get a good balance on his TCX chassis and having run a 4.5 turn motor he now plans to switch to a 5.5 for the first of five rounds of qualifying.
The biggest mover in the final practice round was Germany’s Martin Hofer. The Yokomo team driver, who is also running GM electrics, said switching to heavier shock oil and adding shims to the camber links had greatly improved the feeling of his BD5. Happy now with his set-up he plans to leave the car as is and focus instead on putting in a clean opening qualifier.
Fastest of this year’s ETS title contenders was Viktor Wilck in fourth. The Swede is struggling to find a good balance on his Tamiya and plans to build a fresh diff for the first heat. Finishing just behind his team-mate and standings leader Marc Rheinard, the World Champion said the nature of the large track causes you to get carried away with pulling full power and his focus for the first heat is to slow up earlier and run tighter, faster, lines.
Steen Graversen, Andy Moore, local driver John Bruins, Yannic Prumper and David Ehrbar complete the top 10.
In Pro Stock 2008 Dutch ETS Top Qualifier Vasco Christiaanse was convincingly the fastest of the largest class taking his Kyosho TF6 to an 18.592 average. Young German Rene Klockner was second fastest on an 18.941 ahead of fellow countryman Patrick Jongenelis, Slovak ace Zdenko Kunak and early practice pace setter Geoffrey Vekemans who failed to improve in the final practice.
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ETS drivers greeted by Dutch Summer Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
The timing of the weather for the first outdoor race of the Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series could not have been better with the Dutch Summer arriving at the same time as the World’s best touring car drivers arrive in the Netherlands. The sun has been shining since early morning on the MACH track which is located near the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.
Drivers started the day with three free practice sessions and have just completed their first of two controlled practice runs from which their best fastest three consecutive laps will count towards the reseed for the heats, the first of which takes place later this evening.
Heading the time sheets with an average lap time of 15.963 is defending Champion Jilles Groskamp who returns to the series for the first time this season. The Tamiya/Orion driver, who runs a Nosram speedo, is very happy with his lap times but believes getting the right power balance is going to be key to the racing this weekend. The Dutch ace said he can get more power from his car in which he is running a 4.0 turn motor, but to do so runs the risk of the car failing to run the full five minutes. In the morning Groskamp could run a higher power program due to the cooler conditions but as the temperature came up he switched back to the number 2 setting.
Closest to Groskamp, the clear favourite this weekend, is former World Champion Atsushi Hara. Having spent the last few days staying in England with his Hot Bodies team-mate Andy Moore, the Japanese star has quickly made his mark since arriving in the Netherlands with his GM powered TCX chassis reaching a stunning 115kph down the main straight. Despite the blistering straight line speed Hara’s average lap is over 2/10th off that of Groskamp.
Third fastest is Viktor Wilck who managed a 16.207 with his speed Passion powered Tamiya. The Swede along with his TRF team-mate Marc Rheinard are both running Stock Spec software in their speedo which the World Champion & ETS standings leader said helps give the car more top speed at the end of the long straight. Rheinard came to a halt just before the mid point of the first controlled run due to overheating but the German still managed three decent laps to record a 16.232 average which classified him fourth fastest.
Despite preferring racing on carpet, Denmark’s Steen Graversen has got his weekend off to a strong start by setting the fifth fastest time ahead of Andy Moore. TOP Racing team driver John Bruins and the Xray of David Ehrbar complete the top 8. Unfortunately local Dutch chassis manufacturer Corally with not be officially represented here this weekend following the late withdrawal of their lead driver Marc Fisher.
In Pro stock the feedback on the new control Cirtix Stock Club Race speedo has been very positive. Czech ETS race winner Daniel Wohlgemuth said the speedo felt really nice to drive and although the top speed is lower he predicts very close racing. In terms of times Schumacher driver Geoffrey Vekemans leads the way with a 19.013 average. The current Belgian Champion, who last month raced for the first time at the MACH track, he said his Mi4LP is working well and this is reflected in his pace with the second fastest driver Ivan Laptev over 3/10th adrift. Oliver Franke completes the current Top 3. Top Qualifier the last time the ETS visited the MACH, Vasco Christiaanse who is running Kyosho’s new TF6 chassis has a bit of work to do as he currently sits 10th fastest. Championship leader Alexander Stocker is absent from the entry this weekend but the German has good grounds for missing the event as he has just become a father for the second time.
Drivers have one more round of controlled practice before the first round of qualifying for all three classes brings the opening day of the fifth round of the 2009/2010 Euro Touring Series to a close.
View the event image gallery here.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Champion Groskamp returns for Dutch ETS encounter Categories - Announcement, Racing - comments closed
The Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series moves outdoors this weekend (May 21-23) as it travels to the Netherlands where Jilles Groskamp makes a welcome return to the series that he has been champion of since its inception three years ago. Having moved to Thailand last year, the reigning European Champion has been unable to defend his ETS title this season but with the MACH still very much his home track the Tamiya Racing Factory driver will be hard to beat at the fifth round of the 2009/2010 Series.
Groskamp has dominated proceedings on the last two ETS visits made to his home country and will be keen to repeat that this weekend as he starts his preparations for the World Championships which will take place in Germany in just over a months time. Groskamp is one of a number of international Touring Car stars using the ETS’ first outdoor race of the year to get valuable competitive mileage under them ahead of the Worlds Warm-up race that takes place next weekend in Burgdorf.
Also making the trip over from Asia to Holland is former World Touring Car Champion and current 1:8 Off Road World Champion Atsushi Hara. The Japanese ace is a previous ETS race winner and will be keen to add another victory as he makes his European debut with Hot Bodies new TCX chassis. The first international asphalt race of the year, this weekend will give both Hara and HB team-mate Andy Moore a chance to gauge the new car against the factory squad of current World Champions Tamiya.
Tamiya have taken victory at all four rounds thus far with current World Champion Marc Rheinard leading the standings by 5 points from Viktor Wilck, who won the opening race at Kastellaun, and they will be keen to maintain the team’s 100% winning record this weekend. Others who should be in the mix in the premiere class at the MACH include Corally team leader Marc Fisher, European Junior Champion Yannic Prümper, Danish European finalist Steen Graversen and emerging Slovak talent Zdenko Kunák, who heads the Xray challenge.
For the biggest class of the ETS, Round 5 marks a major change in Pro Stock as the organisers introduce, with the help of series sponsor Speed Passion, a controlled speedo to try and create a more level playing field for racers. With all drivers being equipped with the same Cirtix Stock Club Race speedo and Competition 3.0 13.5 turn motor there will be a far greater emphasis on driver ability this weekend. Predicting a winner among the 101 entries is difficult but one can expect Czech ETS race winner Daniel Wohlgemuth, last year’s Dutch ETS winner Rob Janssen, Russian Ivan Laptev, Zdenko Kunák and local ace Vasco Christiaanse, who TQ’d on the last visit to the MACH, to be at the top end of the time sheets.
In the Hobby class the driver to beat is promising Polish youngster Michal Orlowski who leads the standings from Eric Mulder but this is Mulder’s home track and he will be determined to take his first win of the season here. One interesting entry in the class is Frank Groskamp, father of Jilles, and with such a good driver coach he could spring a few surprises on the more established runners.
Round five of the Xenon Racing Euro Touring Series gets underway with practice on Friday and the event can be followed live throughout the weekend on RedRC.net who will be in Heemstede to report on all the action.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Impressions from Poland Categories - Racing, Report - comments closed
Embedded above is a very nice video production by the OSM to highlight the fourth round of the 2009/2010 Xenon Racing backed Euro Touring Series which visited Warsaw, Poland, in early March.
